Christian is the name of a pet lion bought from Harrods department store in 1969. After about a year with his owners the lion had grown too big to remain with them. After a chance encounter with the stars of the film Born Free, the owners handed over Christian to the "Lion Man", conservationist George Adamson, in order to be rehabilitated into the wild in Kora National Reserve, Kenya. A movie titled Christian the Lion at World's End was made documenting the translocation of Christian from England to Kenya.

FILMS:

CHRISTIAN THE LION AT WORLD'S END is the true life story of Christian the Lion and his journey from London England to Kenya East Africa to live a free life with conservationist George Adamson of Born Free fame and to join other wild lions. It is a remarkable story of trust, affection and friendship between man and lions. It is written, produced and directed by Bill Travers, star of Born Free and James Hill the director of Born Free. This movie and the film The Lions are Free were released on DVD in November 2006.

TRIVIA:

The character, Kimba the White Lion, was inspired by Christian, and is often looked at as his other-world double.

George Adamson:

George Adamson (1906- 20 August 1989), the "Lion Man" of Africa, was one of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation and an author. He and his wife Joy Adamson are best known through the book and film Born Free, which depicts the true story of Elsa, an orphaned lioness cub they raised and later released into the wild.

Adamson was born in Dholpur, Rajasthan, India (then British India) in 1906. He first visited Kenya in 1924. After a series of adventures, which included time as a gold prospector, he joined Kenya's game department in 1938 and, six years later, married Joy. It was in 1956 that he came to have Elsa the lioness who would gain world fame and affection.

George Adamson retired as a game warden in 1963 and devoted himself to his many lions. In 1970, he moved to the Kora National Reserve in northern Kenya to continue the rehabilitation of captive or orphaned big cats for eventual reintroduction into the wild. George and Joy separated in 1970, but continued to spend Christmases together.

On 20 August 1989, at the age of 83, Adamson was shot to death at Kora Reserve by Somali poachers. Joy had been murdered in 1980.